Optimize your inventory management with serial number tracking

Serial numbers are identifiers assigned to individual products to distinguish them from all other items. They consist of a combination of letters and numbers to distinguish one object from another. Each serial number is one of a kind, meaning that no two items will have the same number.

Let’s take, for example, a new laptop. When you receive the laptop, you’ll notice a small sticker on the device containing a combination of letters and numbers. This is the serial number. It is unique to your device and helps identify it in case of warranty claims, repairs, or theft.

In manufacturing, serial numbers are assigned to products during the production process and help track them through the supply chain. In the case of recalls or quality control processes, serial tracking helps trace back to the beginning of the production run and minimize potential quality issues.

Serial number tracking is the process of assigning serial numbers to your inventory as a way to keep an accurate count of it and its journey across the supply chain. It helps businesses with keeping track of their products throughout their entire lifecycle and providing valuable insights into:

• Product performance
• Customer preferences
• Inventory management

With serial number tracking, businesses can identify and trace products through their supply chain, monitor quality control and recall processes, and optimize inventory management strategies. This helps reduce the risk of stockouts, minimize waste and spoilage, and improve their overall efficiency and profitability.

Generating serial numbers can be done manually or through automated systems.

The most common method is through automated software or tools that generate unique, random serial numbers. These tools allow businesses to easily create and assign serial numbers to their products, making it easier to track and manage their inventory. 

To generate serial numbers manually, a business can use letters and numbers to create a unique sequence for each item.  

Most commonly, serial numbers are a combination of:

• Product name
• Production date
• Warehouse code (applies to multilocation businesses)
• A sequential number to confirm the validity of the code

However, this method can be time-consuming and prone to errors, especially if handling large volumes of inventory. 

On the other hand, automated systems and software can generate thousands of unique serial numbers in a matter of seconds.

These systems use algorithms to create random sequences of letters and numbers individual to each item. This makes it easier for businesses to track and manage their inventory, as they can quickly identify each item based on its unique serial number.  

Additionally, automated systems can be integrated with other software tools, such as inventory management systems, to streamline processes and improve efficiency. 

If you wish to read about how to create stock-keeping units (SKUs) with Excel and download a free generator, check out this article.  

Serial number software provides a system for tracing your inventory by assigning unique serial numbers to each individual product. Businesses opt for software instead of manual tracking because of the efficiency and automation that online platforms offer.

Katana’s cloud inventory software offers multiple features to simplify your serial number tracking processes and improve inventory management throughout the supply chain.

End-to-end traceability

Katana allows you to add serial numbers to the products from the manufacturing stage and track the goods until they’re shipped to retailers or customers. This will come in handy for warranty cases, after-sales service, returns, or even recalls.

Serial number search

Katana includes a search function that allows manufacturers to quickly find individual products based on their serial numbers, making it easy to identify specific products and track their movements.

Shop Floor App

Katana gives you complete shop floor control and allows your operators to view tasks and mark them as complete using only a smart device. Once an assignment has been done, it will automatically trigger a change of the status in Katana, too.

Quality control tracking

With serial number tracking, Katana users can easily trace a defective product back to its original batch and find all potentially affected items.